Rachel L. Grover

Observational Measures of Parenting in Anxious and Nonanxious Mothers: Does Type of Task Matter?

This study examined the relation between type of parent-child interaction task and parenting behaviors among a predominantly African American community-based sample. Twenty-five anxious and matched nonanxious (N = 50) mothers were videotaped with their children (M age = 5.8 years) engaging in both a structured and unstructured task. Blind raters coded 3 parent behaviors hypothesized to play a role in the development of child anxiety: overcontrol, anxious behavior, and criticism. Results indicated that higher levels of overcontrol, anxious behavior, and criticism were found in the structured compared to unstructured task. Levels of criticism, among anxious mothers only, were significantly correlated across tasks. Results suggest that situation specific aspects of parent-child interaction tasks may influence parenting behaviors. These findings help explain variations in observational research in the anxiety literature and highlight the need for careful selection of parent-child tasks in future research.

Adolescent Perceptions of Problematic Heterosocial Situations: A Focus Group Study.

Despite the increasing frequency and prominence of other-sex interactions in adolescence, surprisingly little is known about their role in social development and adjustment. This study sought to take an initial step toward a better understanding of such interactions through the development of a taxonomy of teen-identified problematic heterosocial situations. For this purpose, a transcription-based content analysis of 10 same-sex focus groups composed of a total of 58 adolescents was utilized. Nine distinct themes of problematic heterosocial situations encompassing dyadic interactions within the bounds of casual relationships, friendships, romantic relationships, working relationships, and abusive relationships emerged. The results of this study support the importance of romantic relationships in the lives of the participating adolescents, as 3 of the 9 themes describe romantic and/or sexual relationships. A particularly interesting aspect of our findings is the range of situations identified in addition to dating and/or sexual activity. Participating youths actively discussed friendships with members of the other sex, work and classroom acquaintanceships, and relationships made more difficult by the presence of alcohol or drugs. In addition, several participants discussed sexual harassment and other abusive relationship situations (e.g., rape, emotional abuse).

Girl friend, boy friend, girlfriend, boyfriend: broadening our understanding of heterosocial competence.

Heterosocial interactions, or social interactions with other-sex peers, are theorized to serve a number of unique developmental functions for adolescents (e.g., companionship, intimacy, experimentation with sex-role behaviors and sexual activity). Yet despite the importance of heterosocial competence in adolescent social development, there exists little research on the construct. Early research, although informative, reflects a narrow focus on heterosocial anxiety associated with date initiation situations. More recent research has broadened its purview to include investigations of the relation of heterosocial competence to the normative development of romantic relationships, as well as depression, anxiety, and violence in adolescent relationships. To facilitate further research, an expanded, well-defined description of the construct of adolescent heterosocial competence is needed that includes other-sex interactions in casual relationships, friendships, and romantic relationships. In this article we detail the historical and current definitions of the construct and encourage a broader understanding in the context of the developmental psychopathology framework. We follow with a review of our decade-long efforts to better operationally define and assess the construct by summarizing the development and validation of two measures: The Measure of Adolescent Heterosocial Competence and the Measure of Adolescent Heterosocial Competence-Young Adult Version. Finally, we suggest directions for future research.

Defining Competence and Identifying Target Skills

It is fitting that we begin this volume with an attempt to define social competence. A definition should bring us further toward operationalization and the identification of critical skills to be targeted in assessment and intervention. As it stands, however, there is no agreed upon definition of social competence. Though understandable given the overarching and complex nature of such competence, this lack of agreement has caused problems for both assessment and intervention and has limited the overall utility of the construct. Proposed requisite skills for socially competent responding range from cognitive (e.g., fund of information, skills for processing/acquisition, perspective taking), emotional (e.g., affect regulation), and behavioral (e.g., conversation skills, prosocial behavior) skills and abilities, as well as motivational and expectancy sets (e.g., moral development, self-efficacy; Dubois & Felner, 1996).

Introduction to the Special Section on Adolescent Romantic Competence: Development and Adjustment Implications

Romantic relationships are a normative developmental experience in adolescence. Although many prominent developmental theories recognize their importance in helping to form the foundations for future healthy adult relationships, empirical research has not progressed at an expected pace, and there remain many gaps in our knowledge base. Existing research suggests that, regardless of their duration, adolescent romances are salient emotional experiences with significant adjustment implications, both positive and negative. With contributions from both developmental and clinical researchers, the five articles in this special section introduce the romantic competence construct and describe some different avenues of investigation into its definition, measurement, and adjustment implications. It is our hope that these articles add to the existing knowledge base and stimulate interest in the romantic competence construct among clinical child and adolescent researchers.

Quality of College Students' Same-Sex Friendships as a Function of Personality and Interpersonal Competence

The aim of the current study was to investigate personality traits and interpersonal competencies as predictors of the quality of same-sex friendships in young adulthood. Undergraduate students (N = 176), who attended a mid-Atlantic U.S., medium-sized university, completed self-report surveys on their personality, interpersonal competence, and friendship quality. Sex, class status, extraversion, agreeableness, and interpersonal competencies were associated with higher friendship quality, but only the interpersonal competence of self-disclosure significantly predicted friendship quality after controlling for sex, class status, and the five personality factors.

Social Behavior and Condom Use Among Males: A Multidimensional Assessment

A multidimensional assessment approach was used to examine the relationship between social behavior and condom use. A sample of 147 male undergraduates completed a battery of measures, including a role-play test, designed to assess several dimensions of social behavior (i.e., assertiveness, problem solving, heterosocial skill, skill in simulated contraceptive interactions) and contraceptive/prophylactic use (i.e., engagement in contraceptive-related social behaviors, enactment of the component behaviors comprising competent condom use, consistency of contraceptive and condom use). Overall, a strong relationship between social behavior and both the consistency and quality of condom and contraceptive use was found. Individuals who reported engaging in more contraceptive-related social behaviors tended to use condoms, and other forms of contraception, more consistently. In addition to using condoms more consistently, the results indicated that these males also used condoms more competently, that is, they endorsed a higher frequency of participation in the component behaviors associated with using a condom. Inspection of the social skill measures indicates that the relationship is complex and difficult to interpret. Two dimensions of social skill (assertiveness, problem solving) were found to be inversely related to the consistent use of condoms. In contrast, the contraceptive role-play performances were positively associated with the consistency of condom use. The role-play measures positive relationship to condom use may result from the fact that it assesses skill in specific social situations that more closely resemble those experienced by condom users rather than more trait-like dispositional variables.

Examining the Positive Cognitive Triad: A Link Between Resilience and Well-Being:

Extant literature links higher levels of resilience to overall well-being; however, the underlying mechanisms explaining this relation are unclear. Replicating and extending the study of Mak, Ng, and Wong, the present study investigated the “positive cognitive triad” of hope, world-view, and self-esteem as a possible mediator between resilience and well-being for the first time in an American sample. Participants (n = 198) completed online surveys of self-esteem, hope, view of the world, and resilience. Consistent with expectations, the triad was a significant mediator of the relation between resilience and well-being. These findings underscore the importance of developing interventions targeting the positive cognitive triad and examining the triad within the context of mental illness. Limitations and areas for future research are discussed.

The measure of heterosocial competence: Development and psychometric investigation

Guided by the Goldfried and D’Zurilla behavioral-analytic model, we developed and psychometrically evaluated a measure of heterosocial competence and, in doing so, learned more about the construct in young adults. The Measure of Heterosocial Competence (MHC) is a social problem-solving questionnaire assessing competence in challenging other-sex social interactions. Internal consistency was acceptable and component analyses yielded one hierarchical factor and two group factors suggesting that heterosocial competence is comprised of the ability to initiate interactions, resolve conflict, and manage sexual situations. The MHC was significantly related to measures of general social competence, anxiety in heterosexual situations, and relationship quality and conflict. The MHC appears to be a promising and unique measure with potential in both research and applied settings.